Tullow Oil Reports New Discovery Offshore Ghana

Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) , the FTSE 100 oil and gas giant has made a new hydrocarbon discovery with the first well on its 2011 multi-well exploration campaign in the West Cape Three Points licence, offshore Ghana. The Teak-1 exploration well has discovered approximately 73 metres of net hydrocarbons in two Campanian and three Turonian-aged reservoirs. The well is located 4.6km north-east of the Mahogany-2 well and 2.7km outside the boundary of Tullow's hugely successful Jubilee field, which was discovered in July 2007 and began producing oil in December last year. The Tullow Oil share price edged up to 8p to 1411p in the news. In the shallower Campanian-aged reservoirs, the Teak-1 intersected six metres of oil pay in the upper zone and 33 metres of gas pay with an underlying 15 metre 40 degree API oil leg, in the lower zone. In the deeper stratigraphic Turonian-aged reservoirs, the well intersected 14 metres of gas-condensate pay in two separate zones and five metres of 32 degree API oil pay in a deeper level. Tullow noted that the up-dip combination structural and stratigraphic Campanian trap was potentially 50 sq km in area and would be the subject of further appraisal activity. Interpretation of the potential extent of each of the deeper Turonian zones is ongoing. The Atwood Hunter rig drilled Teak-1 to a total depth of 3,170 metres in water depths of 868 metres. On completion of operations, the well will be suspended for future use and the rig will move to drill the Teak-2 well which is targeting Campanian and Turonian age reservoirs in a separate fault block between the Teak discovery and the Jubilee field. Tullow has a 22.896% interest in the West Cape Three Points licence and its partners are Kosmos Energy (Operator) and Anadarko Petroleum (30.875% each), the E.O.Group (3.5%), Sabre Oil amp; Gas Holdings (1.854%) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) (10% carried interest). Angus McCoss, Tullow's exploration director, said: "Success in all five of the targeted reservoirs, encountering 73 metres of total net pay, is an excellent outcome for the Teak-1 well and a great start to our 2011 multi-well exploration campaign in the West Cape Three Points licence. The significant potential of this discovery, up-dip of Jubilee, will be appraised during 2011 and 2012 once the current drill-out campaign has been completed."